Crist calls for statewide corruption grand jury

Citing an apparent "culture of corruption" taking root in South Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist on Wednesday called for a statewide grand jury to take a sweeping look at honesty-in-government in Florida.

The panel will have the authority to indict public officials and make recommendations for changes in state law, the governor said.

"Today we take a stand to root out public corruption," Crist said, adding his action sprang from "an unsettling string of crime, unconscionable violations of the public trust by public officials, predominantly in South Florida."

Crist called for the grand jury — comprising 18 citizens who will meet in secret — in a petition to the state Supreme Court, which is expected to comply with the request. The grand jury will be scheduled to meet for one year, meaning its findings could be released just before the 2010 election. Crist is a candidate for U.S. Senate.

Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff questioned Crist's motives for calling for the grand jury, calling it a "half measure" since the governor has not moved for a similar probe into dealings in the Republican-run state Legislature. Earlier this year, House Speaker Ray Sansom, R-Destin, stepped down from his post amid a scandal involving a Republican Party fundraiser. He is under indictment, although most charges have been dropped.

While the grand jury will be statewide in scope, South Florida has emerged as an epicenter for public corruption. This month, Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion and School Board member Beverly Gallagher were arrested, as was Republican fundraiser and Hollywood eye doctor Alan Mendelsohn, who served on Crist's gubernatorial transition team. Since 2007, three Palm Beach County commissioners landed in jail in a federal corruption sting.

All those cases, however, were pursued by federal prosecutors, not the state. Federal authorities have more far-reaching tools to combat corruption, including the federal "honest services" law that requires public officials to act in the best interests of their constituents.

Broward State Attorney Mike Satz and his Palm Beach County counterpart, Michael McAuliffe, said state corruption laws are too weak and vague to be effective.

McAuliffe said current laws fail to give "clear notice to public officials when they cross the line." Many state anti-corruption laws that do exist are third-degree felonies that involve no jail time, he said.

"I would like to see a [statewide grand jury] focus on the state legislative front to give us new laws so the 20 state attorneys around Florida can be more effective anti-corruption crusaders," McAuliffe said.

In Tallahassee, statewide prosecutor William Shepherd stressed that the grand jury ordered by Crist is not meant to affect ongoing federal investigations in South Florida. In fact, the statewide grand jury will cover new ground, he said, taking a "broad-based look at our government, identifying shortcomings. ... Public service is no blank check for corrupt self-dealing."

In Broward, the GOP moneyman Mendelsohn is accused of siphoning money from the $2 million he raised for political campaigns in the past decade to pay a mistress and other personal expenses. Gallagher, the School Board member, is alleged to have pocketed a bribe that she slipped into a bag for leftovers at a restaurant. And ex-commissioner Eggelletion got snared for his alleged involvement in a money-laundering scheme.

Pointing to the scope of corruption in Florida, Crist noted he's suspended or removed about 30 people from public office since becoming governor in January 2007. That includes former Hollywood Commissioner Keith Wasserstrom and former Deerfield Beach Mayor Al Capellini.

Critics, though, wonder whether a yearlong grand jury is the best route, given that the state Legislature already has the power to stiffen corruption laws in the 2010 legislative session, which starts in March.

Florida has had 18 statewide grand juries, designed to combat organized criminal activity that crosses county lines. Recent juries have looked into gangs, check-cashing fraud schemes, identity theft and illicit prescription drug sales. Often, results have been mixed because they have authority to make suggestions but not take final action.

What's more, Florida leaders have known for years that state public corruption laws lack teeth. In 1999, then-Gov. Jeb Bush created a task force that recommended a broader definition of public corruption and a stiffer, 15-year maximum sentence for bribery. Even with Bush pushing the idea, a watered-down version didn't pass until 2003.

Bids to further strengthen the state's corruption laws await legislative action. Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, is pushing legislation to extend the federal "honest services" law to state prosecutors, among other bills.

"I appreciate Crist doing the grand jury, but frankly, what we need is political will," said Gelber, a former prosecutor running for attorney general in 2010. "We don't need to wait a year. We have the ideas now."

Josh Hafenbrack can be reached at jhafenbrack@sun-sentinel.com or 850-224-6214.